


The Smoke

by hypochondriacandatrashmouth



Category: Ant-Man (Movies)
Genre: Smoking, Stress Relief, Stress relief tactics, nicotine addiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 18:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18349130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypochondriacandatrashmouth/pseuds/hypochondriacandatrashmouth
Summary: After the stress of everything he has been through, Scott tried many different tactics to deal with it. But none of them seemed to work until he decided to try smoking.





	1. Chapter 1

He never thought he would resort to this. But the stress was getting to be too much for him. The stress of everything. The stress of being a super hero, a divorced dad who only gets to see his daughter every few weeks, a protégé, and an employee for his best friend.

It was way too much for him.

He needed a way to get rid of the stress. Or, at the least, to ease it a bit.

He tried quite a few of those stress relief colouring books, but he got bored of those way too easily. His attention span was too short for them.

He tried meditation and music, but he couldn't get into it. And his music range wasn't all that "smooth" or "easy-going." Music softer than David Bowie, the Monkees, the Cure, or Death Cab For Cutie was something that could put him to sleep.

Anything else... You get the idea.

But this... This worked better than any of those. He knew it wasn't healthy, but it did just the trick. He knew it could kill him, but it was helping him right now.

Just as long as no one found out...

Scott shook his head and took another drag off the cigarette held between his fingers before exhaling the smoke and stubbing the cancer stick out against the windowsill of the master bedroom in his apartment. He flicked the butt out the window before pulling his head back into the room and getting a whiff of his shirt. He wrinkled his nose at the stench and grimaced. Yeah, he's never going to get used to the smell that came with those things.

He pulled his shirt off and headed for the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth.

While he was brushing his teeth after his shower, he heard a knock on the door down the hall, then the squeak of the door opening.

"Shit," he muttered around his toothbrush. He threw the bathroom door open and dashed down the hall. As Luis stepped into the apartment, Scott pushed him out and closed the door until it was just an opening enough for him to stick his head through.

"Scott, what the hell, man?" Luis asked, agitated. "Are you and Hope fadoodling again?"

"Fadoodling?" Scott repeated, pulling the toothbrush from his mouth. "No! She's not even here. It's just..." He tried to come up with a better excuse than the actual truth. Then he remembered the towel around his waist. "I'm naked."

"You're naked?" Luis repeated, then he took in his friend's appearance; his damp hair and eyebrows and the few water droplets on his eyelashes.

"Oh shit, you were in the shower?!"

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "Just let me get dressed, finish brushing my teeth, and then you can come in."

"I can just wait on the couch, get these plans set up," Luis said.

"No, no. Not yet. Just wait out here."

Scott shut the door and locked it. He let out a long breath, leaning back against the door. Then he headed back to the bathroom and finished brushing his teeth, then went to the living room and hunted around for one of the many cans of Febreze he had purchased over the weeks. He found one and began to spray it around vainly.

He then ran to his room and quickly got dressed. As he ran back to the door, he realised his clothes smelled of nicotine as well and swore under his breath. He ran back to the living room and grabbed the Febreze can and sprayed himself all over with it.

Once he finished drenching himself in the Ocean Breeze scented spray, he ran back to the door and tried to open it.

"You locked it, bro," Luis called through the wooden door.

"Right! I knew that!" Scott called back. He unlocked it and pulled it open. "Sorry about that," he said.

"I really could've waited on the couch, man," Luis said.

"No. It was covered in stuff. I cleared it off though. That's why I took so long."

If Pinocchio magic were real, Scott's nose would've been so long by now.

The two men made their way to the living room and set up the security plans for a new customer.

A few hours into their planning, Scott began to crave something. His fingers started to twitch for a cigarette and he mentally swore at himself. Maybe a beer would suffice for now?

"You want a beer?" he asked Luis.

"Yeah, sure man," his friend shrugged, glancing up from the paper.

Scott nodded and headed for the kitchen. He opened the fridge and frowned upon not seeing any of the beverages in there. "I uh... I'm kinda out. I'll run down to the store and grab some! Be right back."

He grabbed his phone off the counter and looked toward the bedroom. His cigarette pack was in there. He glanced toward the living room and Luis's hunched, concentrated figure. He shook his head and headed for the door.

"I'll be back soon!" he called out.

"Hurry! I'm getting lots of ideas!" Luis called back.

The door closed.

Then it opened again. "Forgot my wallet and keys!" Scott announced, speed walking past Luis, who was now tapping away on his laptop.

"That would've been bad," the man said.

Scott headed into the bedroom and grabbed his keys and wallet off the dresser, and his gaze lingered on the cigarette pack. He hesitated a moment before grabbing it and the lighter resting beside it.

***

Outside and walking down the street, Scott remove a cancer stick from its pack and held it between his lips. He dug around in his pockets for the lighter and pulled it out, flicked it on, and lit the end of the stick. He took a drag on it as he replaced the lighter back into his pocket.

He took the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled the smoke. Yeah, this was fine...

***

Luis set the laptop back onto the coffee table and took up his pen to make a few notes on the sides of the plans when he noticed something off about the smell of the air around him. He frowned and looked around. Was something burning? He stood up and started to look around. He went into the kitchen. The smell was a little stronger in there and didn't smell as much like Ocean Breeze as the living room did. Still, nothing was burning in there.

"Is that a cigarette smell?" Luis wondered aloud. Then his gaze landed on the lighter on the counter. Scott didn't own any candles (Hope and Maggie didn't trust him with them, considering how forgetful he was) nor a gas-light stove (too "old-fashioned" for Scott's taste) so what could he be using a lighter for?

"No no no," Luis muttered. "Scotty, no..."

Then Luis shook his head. He didn't have any proof other than this. He had a feeling Scott would get mad at him for snooping, but he was concerned. He began to search around, peeking under towels and in drawers. He then made his way to the master bedroom, where the stench was strongest. He nearly gagged and got a headache the moment he stepped in the room. Okay, yeah, something was wrong.

Luis kept looking around. Then, by the window, he noticed something on the floor. He went over and picked it up, then nearly dropped it in disgust. An unlit cigarette. Just chilling on the floor between the bed and the window. He looked away from the cigarette and to the window. He opened it and peered out. Littering the back yard, fire escape, and sidewalk were many many many dead cigarettes, cigarette butts, and dropped unlit cigarettes.

"Oh, Scotty..." Luis whispered.

He heard the front door open and panicked. He needed to confront his best friend about this, but he didn't want to admit to having snooped around.

He heard the sound of glass bottles being set on the counter and smelled cigarette smoke.

"Dammit Scott..." Luis shook his head and looked at the lighter and cigarette in his hand. He needed to confront him.

"Hey um... Scotty?" Luis called out, stepping out of the bedroom. "Wanna uh... Wanna tell me something?"

"No," Scott said, not looking up from the holder of beers.

"You sure? Then explain this." Where did this sudden confidence come from? Luis tossed the cigarette and lighter onto the counter in front of Scott. The older man flinched, yet didn't say anything.

"How long?" Luis asked. Scott shook his head. "How long, Scott?" Luis repeated, more stern and demanding.

"A few weeks," Scott admitted finally, shame filling his voice.

"Why?" Luis asked now.

"I've been stressed for a while," Scott started. "I know there are better, healthier ways to deal with it. I know! But I tried all of those. Nothing worked. Nothing helped! I'm sorry, Luis. I'm... I'm very very sorry."

"Does Hope know?" Luis asked. Scott shook his head.

"I don't think so," the man said.

"Maggie? Paxton?"

Scott shook his head again.

"Did you even think about what to do and how to explain this when Cassie comes around?" Luis asked, voice softer, calmer.

Scott shook his head again. "No. I didn't even think when I started."

"You need to stop. You know that, right?"

Scott nodded this time. "Yeah. But... I don't know how and I don't know if I can."

"I'll help you. I promise," Luis said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll start slow, okay? We'll just tell Maggie to keep Cassie for a little longer than usually until you've completely rid yourself of these things. Okay?"

Scott nodded again.

"Go shower again, man. You smell like an ashtray."

"Thanks, Luis."


	2. The Official Playlist

Here is the official playlist for this oneshot. Enjoy!

 

[The Smoke](https://8tracks.com/antmanandspiderman/the-smoke-scott-lang-oneshot-playlist)

**Author's Note:**

> I am creating a playlist for this, which I will share a link to in the next part. This is a oneshot, so no new content in the next part aside from the link.


End file.
